Constituents in Runnymede & Weybridge will be offered a fresh alternative on May 5 in the shape of Katrina Osman, who will be standing on behalf of the UK Community Issues Party in its first general election.

“We will campaign for a safer NHS and reform in all public services and the justice system so that openness, honesty and accountability are integral, fundamental and natural to the processes of all local and central government,” she said.

“Our parliamentary representatives from the three main political parties are unable, or unwilling, to help. So, with no other options available, we have decided to bring this issue into the political arena.”

Mrs Osman has been campaigning for a safer NHS since 1999. It was then that her husband, Michael, was discharged from St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey after a hernia operation.

“The following day, he took a turn for the worse. His doctor told us he needed to be readmitted as he was in excruciating pain,” she said. “When he got to hospital, he was told he needed an emergency operation or else he could die, but in the end ‘no cause’ was recorded.

“He has ongoing problems and even though we went through the NHS complaints procedure, it is so hard to prove.”

After meeting a number of people who had experienced similar problems with the health service, a collective decision was taken to form a political party in 2001, originally called the Health and Community Issues Party.

“We are trying to achieve more accountability so people are dealt with in a fair and just manner,” Mrs Osman said. “You cannot get anywhere when you make a complaint through the NHS system.

“What we are calling for are independent, rather than self-regulatory bodies, to investigate the public services. You cannot really fight them if you are on your own. We hope that we can raise awareness through the election.”

While accountability within the health service is high on Mrs Osman’s political agenda, she is keen to point out that she does not want her campaign to be seen as single-issue attack.

“I know that there are a lot of good people working for the NHS, but there is too much bureaucracy,” she said.

“The front-line staff need to be recognised for all their good work. But the management do not deal with complaints properly and, if they did, it would save everyone a lot of time and money.”

The name of the party was changed in October 2004 to incorporate a wider range of policies and appeal to a broader section of the electorate.

Among their aims, the party proposes the scrapping of tuition fees for higher education, addressing the lack of facilities for young people, establishing law and order in town centres by increasing police on the beat, and holding a referendum on Europe.

The party has also put forward candidates in both Woking and Spelthorne, and Mrs Osman believes that its principles have struck a chord with voters in the area.

“People have been coming up to us saying ‘good for you for standing up for these issues’. Voters are fed up with the main parties and politics as a whole, so this is another way of protesting,” she said.

With leaflets informing voters of the party’s policies due to be sent out by the end of this week, Mrs Osman says she will be going out immediately afterwards to meet her constituents. However, her aims for the election are realistic.

“I know we do not stand a chance of winning but, at the same time, we need to raise these issues,” she said. “We are hoping to get people in other areas standing in the future. We want recognition of what we are campaigning for.”